Canada-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group chairwoman Judy Sgro has invited group members to sign a letter asking the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to address Beijing’s unilateral changes to flight route M503.
China announced the changes at the end of last month, breaking its agreement with Taiwan that southbound flights on the flight route should operate 6 nautical miles (11km) southwest of the route.
It also said it would allow eastbound flights on the W122 and W123 flight paths, which the two sides had agreed not to launch before details of their implementation were confirmed.
Photo: Reuters
Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁), on behalf of the government, sent a letter to ICAO Council president Salvatore Sciacchitano on Wednesday last week, urging the organization to address the issue and provide timely support.
He also called on Canada and international society to pay close attention to the issue at a parliamentary briefing that Sgro held on Wednesday, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada said.
Tseng said Taiwan hoped that Canada would voice concerns about Beijing’s continued attempts to heighten tensions across the Taiwan Strait and its disregard for civil aviation safety, the office said.
Sgro said that the friendship group was collecting signatures from its members on a letter addressed to Sciacchitano to urge the organization to deal with the issue, it said.
Initiating a joint letter shortly after a single incident due to its urgency, importance and seriousness “is quite rare,” Tseng told the Central News Agency.
Although Taiwan is not a member of the ICAO and there is no precedent regarding the issue, the ICAO is likely to take some form of action, and at least discuss the incident internally, he said.
At the parliamentary briefing, Tseng also discussed the situation in Taiwan after its Jan. 13 presidential and legislative elections, the office said.
He spoke of how China claimed that the election results did not reflect public opinion, how it lured away Taiwan’s diplomatic ally Nauru, prevented Taiwan from hosting the Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship this year and is considering suspending tariff concessions on more Taiwanese products, the office said.
Many Canadian lawmakers attending the briefing were very concerned about China’s interference and disinformation campaign during Taiwan’s elections, fearing that Beijing might do the same during Canada’s election, it said.
Tseng said that the scale and intensity of Chinese interference leading up to last month’s elections were greater than ever, including the use of artificial intelligence to spread rumors and vilify candidates on social media platforms, the office said.
Taiwan was able to deal with the issue, because of its vast experience in countering such disinformation, Tseng said, adding that its robust civil society also helped to verify suspicious information promptly.
The nation is willing to share its experiences with Canada and provide suggestions, he added.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS